Parents rally for teachers on 2-month anniversary of work-to-rule
More than 200 people braved the cold Sunday to show support for public-school teachers
On the two-month anniversary of work-to-rule by public-school teachers, more than 200 people in Halifax braved chilly temperatures Sunday to rally in support of the educators.
"I think it's a necessary evil," said Samantha Shaw, the parent of a Grade 10 student. "It needs to go on for as long as it has to, until this government wakes up and realizes that there are real problems with this education system."
Work-to-rule is a tool the 9,300 members of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union are using to show the province it isn't satisfied with its latest contract offer. Teachers are doing only what's minimally required of them in their contracts, which means things like extra help after school, field trips and sports have been cancelled.
Teachers vote Feb. 8
The rally was organized by Nova Scotia Parents for Teachers, a Facebook group started in 2016. Organizers said it was important to hold the rally ahead of the ratification vote of the province's latest offer. The vote is scheduled to happen Feb. 8.
"I've seen firsthand working in the schools what these teachers are doing to support themselves: pulling from their own family time, pulling from their own resources, pulling from their own salary and buying their own supplies and they've reached a breaking point," said Shaw.
Lori Walton, one of the organizers of the rally and a parent of a daughter in Grade 7, said she doesn't think the teachers should accept the province's latest offer.
Work-to-rule 'small inconvenience'
"It doesn't address any of the issues they're asking for. I've talked to several teachers at this point and they feel it's not addressing the caps, it's not addressing the classroom issues and therefore it should not have been put on the table," Walton said.
John Munro's daughter just started Grade Primary this year and he said while work-to-rule has been "a little bit of an inconvenience," he ultimately supports the teachers.
"I'm concerned about the state of public education in this province," Munro said. "I feel like that small inconvenience has been worth it as a tactic the teachers have to use to bargain for the very reasonable things that they're asking for."
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